Kitchen Call: Why buy breadcrumbs? Making your own is easy

Those packaged breadcrumbs don’t taste any better than the cardboard box they’re packed in. Anyway, why spend money on something you already have on hand? Everyone buys bread, even the gluten intolerant.

Linda Bassett

It’s so nice to write with the kitchen door wide open, sunshine and breezes drenching the room in warmth.

Feeling as though mid-June is here, I roasted a chicken early this morning to make salads for the next few days. Then I noticed that the trees out there haven’t “leafed” yet. I must be dreaming. The calendar still reads spring.

Well, there’s no way I can write about artichokes and asparagus. And I can’t skip ahead to fresh garden tomato season. So I decided to play with breadcrumbs, mostly because I saw someone agonizing over “plain or seasoned” in the supermarket yesterday. How awful! Those packaged crumbs don’t taste any better than the cardboard box they’re packed in.

Anyway, why spend money on something you already have on hand? Everyone buys bread, even the gluten intolerant. (Gluten-free bread makes great crumbs.) And especially with kids in the house, the ends are likely left until they turn green — and not in a good way. A better use is to take the ends out of the bag right away and process them into crumbs to keep in a plastic baggie in the freezer.

I’m not one of those finicky cooks who feels the need to cut all crusts off to make breadcrumbs. That’s fine for crusty French or Italian or sourdough. But not the loaf used for the kids’ sandwiches, where the ends and crusts are always soft.

You can toast breadcrumbs for flavor. Or leave them untoasted. I keep one container of each in the freezer and keep adding to them. I can season the crumbs with a whole range of fresh herbs and dried spices. And I can use them in as many recipes as I can dream up.

It’s not difficult to make breadcrumbs these days, as nearly everyone owns a blender or a food processor. (And you can get a large, small or medium crumb when you make them yourself, instead of the finely milled ones in the box.)

In a cookbook from pre-processor days, “Simca’s Cuisine” by Julia Child’s writing partner, Simon Beck, directs readers to dry the bread in a slow oven until hard, then “Put the … bread through the fine blade of a food mill, or force it through the holes in a colander…” Imagine all that winding or pressing? Is it any wonder our mothers taught us to look for breadcrumbs in the grocery store?

Sign of the changed times: Simca follows those directions with a remedy for minor kitchen burns. “Rub … gently with the cut surface of a raw potato.” Haven’t tried it. Don’t know if I’d take the time to cut a potato when cold running water or a bag of frozen peas is so close at hand.

Here are a few suggested uses for all those breadcrumbs:

· Top everyday mac and cheese or exotic gratins of eggplant or zucchini.

· Top a fish fillet, and drizzle with butter or olive oil before baking.

· Mix with ground meats for meatloaf or meatballs.

· Season with sage or thyme to stuff a chicken or mushrooms.

· Season with oregano, Parmesan and lemon zest to fill in between artichoke leaves.

· Process with walnuts, pinenuts or cashews to coat chicken cutlets or pork chops before frying. Or coat chicken or eggplant with oregano, basil or parsley-herbed breadcrumbs, then fry. Eat as is, or go on to turn the cutlets into parmigiana by transferring to a baking dish, covering with your favorite tomato sauce, some grated mozzarella cheese and drizzling the top lightly with olive oil. Bake at 375 degrees about 15 to 20 minutes, until the cheese is all hot and melted. Same directions for eggplant parmigiana.

I’ve also tried a revival of an Italian country technique, sprinkling toasted breadcrumbs over cooked pasta. And topping spinach/artichoke dip so the finished looks more appealing.

Cod with Flavored Breadcrumbs

The fillets I bought are quite thick, so if cod is not to your liking, and you substitute a thinner cut of fish, adjust the cooking time down.

1 or 2 cod fillets

4 tablespoons olive oil or butter, plus extra for the pan

Salt, pepper, to taste

1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 lemon quartered

1. Heat the broiler and place the rack about 4 inches below it. Lightly butter a sheet pan.

2. Transfer fish to the sheet pan. Brush fish with 1 tablespoon melted butter or oil and season with salt and pepper. Place under the broiler for 6 to 8, turning once.

3. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons butter or oil in a skillet. Add breadcrumbs and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 or 3 minutes until they brown lightly. Stir in parsley. Spread this mixture over the fish and continue cooking 2 minutes longer. Squeeze lemon over the cooked fish. Makes 4 servings.

3. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil and transfer to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes.

4. While the mushrooms bake, heat 1 tablespoon oil, or more as needed to film the bottom of a skillet. Add onion and garlic, if using. Cook, stirring for 3 to 5 minutes until softened. Add tomatoes, and cook stirring 1 minute longer. Stir in the breadcrumbs.

5. Remove mushrooms from oven. Sprinkle with breadcrumb-tomato mixture. Top with goat cheese and salt and pepper, to taste. Return to oven for 5 minutes, until cheese starts to melt. Makes 6.

Linda Bassett is the author of “From Apple Pie to Pad Thai: Neighborhood Cooking North of Boston.” Reach her by e-mail at KitchenCall@aol.com. Follow Linda on Twitter @KitchenCall for a daily kitchen hint, trick, shortcut or info.

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